Garden Plot

Welcome to the newest addition to the Recipes for Good Living Magazine line up. It’s a new year and we want to start it out right by equipping our readers with everything they need in order to live a good life. And since a large part of our existence is spent eating, there is no better way to do that than with food from your own garden.

As an avid gardener who has spent the last few decades creating mouth-watering dishes with the bounty from my own garden, it seems only fitting to share what I consider to be the real secret to cooking “good” food.

January is the perfect time to begin planning your own garden plot with plenty of time to research how to grow good food for you and your family.

This is the month to decide what you will grow and where to best grow it. This is also the month to purchase seeds and plan your calendar to visit area garden shows. Garden shows are great to visit in order to get ideas and it is typically where I purchase my heirloom seeds. You can also begin to study the pattern of the elements such as the sun, wind and rain around your home as this will impact the overall success of your garden. And for those of you who might live in apartments or lack the land to plant a garden, you can always check out community gardens that are springing up in a number of urban settings.

So, let’s pull out a pad a paper and get started. Here is a good beginning:

  1. Determine what area around your yard gets the greatest number of hours of sunlight. Vegetables need at least 5-6 hours of sun in order to grow well.
  2. Make a list of the kinds of vegetables you would like to grow, keeping in mind the available time you have to work your garden.
  3. If the ground is not too frozen- over where you live, get a sample of the soil from the area you wish to plant your garden and have it tested. Depending on the types of vegetables you wish to grow, you might have to condition the soil. The best way to start off with the right balance is to dig out the area removing about 5 inches of soil and replacing it with organic garden soil. This will give you a nice base upon which you can begin to add nutrient to your planting ground.
  4. Once you decide how large you would like the garden to be, using graph paper, draw an outline denoting the size of the plot.
  5. Homework — make a list of the kinds of vegetables you would like to grow.

Next month — DESIGNING YOUR KITCHEN GARDEN (POTAGER).

And remember, if you have questions, please Ask Bonnie and I will be sure to answer them. Until next time, happy planning.